Beaming Books is hosting a contest for picture books written to help kids thrive emotionally, socially and spiritually. The stories should cover topics on self-esteem, kindness, ethics, or faith. If you have an unpublished picture book of 1,000 words or less that meet the publishers mission, then The Beaming Books Children’s Picture Book Writing Contest might be for you!

The story doesn’t have to be illustrated, but it’s okay if it is. The winner will win $3000 and the chance to be published. Make sure you read the complete guidelines before submitting. But hurry, the entry deadline is November 14, 2018. And as always, good luck!

Heidi Norrod is hosting her final twitter pitch event for writers called #AdPit. In order to participate, authors need to have a finished manuscript and tweet their 280 character pitch using the hashtag #AdPit on November 7, 2018. The contest began at 9am and ends at 3pm CST (Chicago time). Writer’s will be allowed to pitch six times over the course of the event. (That’s once every hour, as the event is six hours long.)

This contest is open to ADULT and NEW ADULT COMPLETED, fiction and non-fiction books. And remember, be sure to research the LITERARY AGENTS and EDITORS before submissions. As always, good luck!

A cool twitter pitch party is coming on October 25, 2018 and I’m excited! Author Jason Huebinger is the host of #PitDark. This is one of my favorite contests because it’s strictly for manuscripts with darker elements, which is soooo down my alley. The event is between 8am and 8pm EST. Authors may pitch once an hour per manuscript. Please do not clog the feed by over pitching so agents don’t get frustrated and quit reading.

Hashtags for AGE CATEGORIES

#MG – Middle Grade

#YA – Young adult

#NA – New adult

#A – Adult

Hashtags for GENRES & SUBGENRES

#H – horror

#PH – psychological horror

#GH – gothic horror

#CSH – cosmic horror

#BH – body horror

#CH – comedy horror

#DC – dark comedy

#DR – dark romance

#SFH – science fiction horror

#PNH – paranormal horror

#ZH – zombie horror

#MH – monster horror

#GRH – graphic horror

#MM – murder mystery

#FA – fantasy

#DF – dark fantasy

#T – thriller

#EF – epic or high fantasy

#HF – historical fantasy

#LF – literary fantasy

#AH – alternate history

#PN – paranormal

#PR – paranormal romance

#UF – urban fantasy

#MR – magical realism

#SF – science fiction

#AF – apocalypse fiction

#ML – military science fiction

#PA – post-apocalyptic SF

#CP – cyberpunk

#SFT – sci-fi thriller

#SH – superhero / superhuman

#SO – space opera

#DS – dystopian

#SP – steampunk

#TT – time travel

#WW – weird west

#SPEC – speculative fiction

#NF – non-fiction

For complete rules, go here. (Note: If your curious about previous agent, editor, and film company participation, there is a link on this page.) As always, good luck!

Great news!Skylark Literary Agency has put together a competition for fiction manuscripts geared toward young readers of ages 8-12. (Non-fiction is not accepted.) They are looking for outstanding new stories with strong characters. Submissions must be from unagented and unpublished writers.

The Guest Judges

The Prize

The prize will be a one-to-one editorial critique of your finished manuscript by phone, or in person (locations allowing), with Joanna and/or Amber. They will suggest ways in which you could polish and perfect your novel to improve its chances of representation and publication, and seek to answer any queries you may have about the children’s publishing industry in general.

The Deadline!

The deadline for competition entries is December 24, 2018. So CLICK HERE for how to enter together with the full terms and conditions.

Per the Florida Writing Workshop website, this writing event (August 4, 2018) is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (200 total). They will inform everyone directly on the website when seats are closed.

The University of Pittsburgh Press announces the 2019 Drue Heinz Literature Prize for a collection of short fiction. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract. No information about the winner will be released before the official announcement. The volume of manuscripts prevents the Press from offering critiques or entering into communication or correspondence about manuscripts. Please do not call or e-mail the Press.

The award is open to writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction with a reputable book publisher, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in magazines or journals of national distribution. Digital-only publication and self-publication do not count toward this requirement.

Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 typed pages. Prior publication of your manuscript as a whole in any format (including electronic) makes it ineligible.

Manuscripts must be received before deadline of June 30, 2018 via Submittable. Or, they can be mailed, but must be postmarked before June 30, 2018

Somehow I managed to schedule this post for a different day. It was brought to my attention that I had the wrong day when I got a “fave” from an editor from an older pitch. (Needless to say, I was excited and then disappointed when I saw my blog didn’t post.) So, here is the info incase you’re not aware. There are only a couple more hours left in the contest!

This cool twitter pitch party is today May 17, 2018! Author Jason Huebinger is the host of #PitDark. This is one of my favorite contests because it’s strictly for manuscripts with darker elements, which is soooo down my alley. The event is between 8am and 8pm EST. Authors may pitch once an hour per manuscript. Please do not clog the feed by over pitching so agents don’t get frustrated and quit reading.

Hashtags for AGE CATEGORIES

#MG – Middle Grade

#YA – Young adult

#NA – New adult

#A – Adult

Hashtags for GENRES & SUBGENRES

#H – horror

#PH – psychological horror

#GH – gothic horror

#CSH – cosmic horror

#BH – body horror

#CH – comedy horror

#DC – dark comedy

#DR – dark romance

#SFH – science fiction horror

#PNH – paranormal horror

#ZH – zombie horror

#MH – monster horror

#GRH – graphic horror

#MM – murder mystery

#FA – fantasy

#DF – dark fantasy

#T – thriller

#EF – epic or high fantasy

#HF – historical fantasy

#LF – literary fantasy

#AH – alternate history

#PN – paranormal

#PR – paranormal romance

#UF – urban fantasy

#MR – magical realism

#SF – science fiction

#AF – apocalypse fiction

#ML – military science fiction

#PA – post-apocalyptic SF

#CP – cyberpunk

#SFT – sci-fi thriller

#SH – superhero / superhuman

#SO – space opera

#DS – dystopian

#SP – steampunk

#TT – time travel

#WW – weird west

#SPEC – speculative fiction

#NF – non-fiction

For complete rules, go here. (Note: If your curious about previous agent, editor, and film company participation, there is a link on this page.) As always, good luck!

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will be closing submissions for their Emerging Artist Award on May 15, 2018. The goal is to develop high quality children’s picture books that resonate with readers of diverse backgrounds. So if you haven’t completed your mock up to send, get it done, ASAP! The award includes:

American Express® gift cards totaling $1,500

Round-trip travel for the winner to New York City

A day at LBYR’s offices in New York

Lunch with an editor, an art director, and the Artist Mentor.

An in-person portfolio review by the Artist Mentor and the LBYR publishing staff.

A tour of the office

Opportunity for the winning submission to be reviewed by LBYR’s editorial team for possible future publication.

Be sure and visit the link above regarding the award and pay attention to the official rules. As always, good luck!

Revise & Resub is a writerly contest started in 2017 by a group of editors wanting to help writers find their dreams of publishing. Writers submit their completed manuscripts to two editors and one alternate for an opportunity to win feedback. The chosen writers will get help to ready their entire manuscripts for agent queries, and it’s FREE!

The submission window opens at 9am EST on April 21, 2018 and closes at 11:59pm on April 22, 2018. Be sure to read the editor bios so your manuscript will be a good fit (and they don’t hit the delete button)! In order to submit, go here. And as always, good luck!

The Bradford Literary Agency is hiring a literary agent assistant. This will be 10-15 hours weekly in office, with possible remote working options after training. The office is located in San Diego, California, though they also have offices in New York and Orange County.

Some of their clients include NYT bestselling authors Megan Hart, Lauren Dane, Tessa Bailey and Katee Robert, RITA award-winning authors Jenn Bennett and Clara Kensie as well as debut authors and illustrators in numerous categories.

For complete details and to learn how to apply, go here. And as always, good luck!